`everyone' and `everybody'

 1 `everyone' and `everybody'

You usually use everyone or everybody to refer to all the people in a particular group.

The police had ordered everyone out of the office.

There wasn't enough room for everybody.

There is no difference in meaning between everyone and everybody, but everyone is more common in written English, and everybody is more common in spoken English.

You can also use everyone and everybody to talk about people in general.

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression.

Everybody has to die some day.

After everyone or everybody you use a singular form of a verb.

Everyone wants to find out what is going on.

Everybody is selling the same product.

2 referring back

When you are referring back to everyone or everybody, you usually use they, them, or their.

Will everyone please carry on as best they can.

Everybody had to bring their own paper.

3 `every one'

Don't confuse everyone with every one. You use every one to emphasize that something is true about each one of the things or people you are mentioning.

He read every one of her novels.

She thought about her friends. Every one had tried to help her.

"he still young" 和 "he's still young" 的差別在哪裡？

 

The first sentence which is (He still young) is grammatically wrong because there is no verb in this sentence that can describes the person.

But the second sentence which is (He's still young OR He is still young) is grammatically correct. Because it contains the Subject, Verb and Object or Adjective.

Begin 還是 start 呢？

 在表示「開始」的意思時，begin 和 start 為同義詞，可當及物或不及物動詞用，且兩者皆可後接不定詞和動名詞，但 begin 比 start 來得正式。Begin 是個不規則動詞，過去式和過去分詞分別為 began 和 begun。例如：

• Mandy has just begun learning English. (曼蒂剛開始學英文)
• After waiting for about an hour Phoebe was beginning to get angry. (等了大約一小時之後，菲比開始生氣了)
• We started building the house in June. (我們六月份動工興建這棟房子)
• We’ll be starting (the meeting) at 10 a.m. (我們將在上午十點開始 (開會))

Start 亦有「創辦，開辦；(企業或其他機構) 開業，開始營運」的意思 (與 start up 同義)，但 begin 則無這樣的意思。例如：

• Marlon started his own travel agency. (馬龍創辦了自己的旅行社) (正)
  Marlon began his own travel agency. (誤)
• A new restaurant has started up in our community and it’s been going really well. (我們社區有一家新餐館開業，生意真的很好) (正)
  A new restaurant has begun in our community and it’s been going really well. (誤)

Start 還有另一項意思也是 begin 所沒有的，那就是「(機器) 開動，啟動」。例如：

• The car won’t start. (車子發不動) (正)
  The car won’t begin. (誤)
• I’m having trouble starting the printer. (我的印表機無法啟動) (正)
  I’m having trouble beginning the printer. (誤)
• Press this button to start the computer. (按這個鈕來啟動電腦) (正)
  Press this button to begin the computer. (誤)

[NG] What do you want?

 

破解 NG 英文

What do you want?

這句話如果依照中文思考，我們會很單純覺得是「你想要什麼？」，但是在英語母語人士聽起來可不是這樣喔，在不對的情境下或用不對的語氣說出這句話可能會大大冒犯別人。

What do you want?
你以為是：「你想要什麼？」
其實是：「你到底想怎樣！」、「你想怎樣啦！」、「你想幹嘛？」

如果在不適當的時機說出這句話，語氣又拿捏錯誤，對方聽到可能會想說：「是要跟我吵架嗎？」下一秒立刻變臉喔！

這句話在英文中不是不能用，而是使用的時機通常都是在和他人吵架，或是不耐煩、生氣的時候。比如說路上有一個不認識的人一直跟著你、跟你說話，你可以生氣地轉過去跟他說：

What do you want?（你到底想幹嘛？）

或著你很忙碌地在工作，但前男友一直打電話來煩你，你可能會說：

He’s calling again. What does he want?（他又打來了。他到底想怎樣？）

What do you want from me?（你到底想要我怎樣？）

回到情境對話，Amy 遇到客人時，想要問「您需要什麼？」、「您想要什麼嗎？」的情境下就不能使用 What do you want?，而要改成：

Do you need anything?（您需要什麼嗎？）
How can I help you?（我該怎麼協助您呢？）
What can I do for you?（能為您做些什麼呢？）
Would you like some help?（需要協助嗎？）
Can I help you with anything?（能為你做些什麼嗎？）

如果你的職業是客服人員或服務業的門市人員，就特別需要謹慎運用正確的說法。如果不是在和他人吵架，就不要輕易用出 What do you want? 喔！

I don't know vs I know

 I don’t know none of them.我不认识他们中的任何一个。

I don’t know any of them.我不认识他们中的任何一个。

I know none of them.我一个都不认识。

I know any of them.我认识他们中的任何一个。

It doesn’t seem to work. 和 It seems not to work.

 

they both mean the same thing. But,

“ it doesn’t seem to work. “ you are stating that something does not appear to work. and it sounds natural. 👍🏼

“ it seems not to work. “ is not natural. 👎🏼

i hope this helps.

I wish I could 和 I hope I can 有分別嗎？

 最近講過如何用 (wish + subject + past subjunctive) 這種句子結構去表達「對現狀的遺憾」(present regrets)：

http://grammarfun101.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-wish.html 

譬如說： 

I wish I had enough money to buy a Ferrari.
He wishes he owned the cinema so that he couldwatch movies every day.
She wishes the university were in her city.
He wishes he could do something to help the poor.
I wish I had the answer to your question, but I don't.
I wish I knew everything under the sun. 

牛津高階字典第六版是這樣解釋 "wish" (verb) 這個字： 

"To want something to happen or to be true even though it is unlikely or impossible." 
「希望不大可能的事發生；懷著不可能實現的願望。」

跟 "to wish" 不一樣，"to hope" 的意思是：希望某可能發生的事發生。牛津字典是這樣解釋 "hope" (verb) 的：  

"To want something to happen and think that it is possible." 

因為 "to hope" 是用來表達對可能發生的事的期望，所以 "hope" 之後的動詞我們不用帶有不可能意味(unlikelihood) 的 past subjunctive：


I hope you can come to my birthday party.
She hopes she can go to London this year.
My brother hopes he gets the job. 
I hope I will get a raise next year so that I will be able to afford a new car. 

現在 "to wish" 和 "to hope" 的分別應該很明顯了。

如果你想說「我希望我能飛」，你應該說： 

I wish I could fly. 

而不是： 

I hope I can fly.

【囘應別人“休想”】

1.Over my dead body. - 休想

2.No way！- 沒門兒！

3.Not a chance！- 休想！ 

4.Dream on. - 做夢吧。

5.Don't even think about it. - 想都別想。 

I have long hair VS I have a long hair

 I have long hair. - If you mean that all your hair is long

I have a long hair - If you mean that just one of your hairs is (unusually) long, longer than all of the others (which would be an odd situation, but not inconceivable)

我說了算

 (1) I have the final say. 

(2) I have the final word. 

(3) I make the final decision. 

I have the final decision.

(4) I am the one who makes final decision. 

(5) I am the boss. 

(6) I am the person in charge. 

What is the difference between lack, lack of, lacking, lacking in?

 當 lack 作為一個動詞時，架構是 lack + 缺乏的東西

1. He lacks practical experience.

2. Some students lack confidence when they speak in English.

3. She has the determination that her brother lacks.

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當 lack 作為一個名詞時，架構則是:

lack of 缺乏的東西

1. He shows a lack of practical experience.

2. Some students show a lack of confidence when they speak in public.

3. The trip was canceled due to a lack of interest.

---

lack 的形容詞形式是 lacking，架構是:

lacking (in 缺乏的東西)

1. He is lacking in practical experience.

2. Some students are lacking in confidence when they speak in English.

3. The book is completely lacking in originality.

4. He was hired as a teacher but was found lacking
smile emoticon
was thought not to be good enough).

5. I feel there is something lacking.* I’m not sure what it is, but I just feel that something missing in my life.